What do you think?
Rate this book
Impossible to Ignore: Creating Memorable Content to Influence Decisions
A groundbreaking approach to creating memorable messages that are easy to process, hard to forget, and impossible to ignore using the latest in brain science
Audiences forget up to 90 percent of what you communicate. But people make decisions and act based on what they remember, so a pragmatic approach for the effective communicator is to be deliberate about the 10 percent that audiences do retain. Otherwise, content recall is random and inconsistent.
Many experts have offered techniques on how to improve your own memory, but not how to influence other people s memory. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience and cognitive psychology, Impossible to Ignore is a practical step-by-step guide that will show you how to control the 10 percent that your audiences doremember by creating content that attracts attention, sharpens recall, and guides behavior toward a desired action."
Audiences forget up to 90 percent of what you communicate. But people make decisions and act based on what they remember, so a pragmatic approach for the effective communicator is to be deliberate about the 10 percent that audiences do retain. Otherwise, content recall is random and inconsistent.
Many experts have offered techniques on how to improve your own memory, but not how to influence other people s memory. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience and cognitive psychology, Impossible to Ignore is a practical step-by-step guide that will show you how to control the 10 percent that your audiences doremember by creating content that attracts attention, sharpens recall, and guides behavior toward a desired action."
288 pages, Hardcover
Published May 11, 2016
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
August 23, 2016
Simon has thoughtfully and perceptively sketched out the mental architecture of how we create things like marketing messages that linger in people's minds and cause them to act in the future. Sometimes, the conclusions are obvious (surprise is good, simple is better, avoid cliches), but enough of this work is insightful to repay close study. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was because it's written very densely, like a dissertation turned into a book, rather than for ease of reading. Simon needs to take her own advice and turn her turgid prose into sparkling aphorisms, and she'll have the hit that she deserves.
February 28, 2017
For a book that's called impossible to ignore this book probably should have used it's own advice and made it less dull. Overall, the content was useful but it was hard to digest
January 3, 2017
Writers!
This review of Impossible to Ignore is for you.
Ever heard the old saying? When the only tool you have is a chainsaw, every problem looks like a murder victim. No? Even so, you get the point, right?
Permit me to turn that concept of tools (hammers?) and problems (nails?) on its head: When you're a writer who obsesses over finding writing techniques that work, you find new tools, not just in writing how-to books, but in everything you read. If you'd like to test that proposition, start with this book.
I2I is one of those rare nonfiction books I consider a Must-Read for fiction (and nonfiction) writers because the text is packed with tips you can use to hack a reader's mind (an agent's mind, and an acquisition editor's mind as well). Yes, it looks like a business and marketing how-to for communications. But the moment you re-frame your reading mind to look for techniques to exploit in your stories, the creative lights come on. I've made a half-dozen writerly checklists from this book. I've written notes and a lot of !!!!s into the margins, where I've underlined material in red ink and splattered so many highlights it looks as if some graffiti artist vandalized my copy.
Quick Example
Enable Self-Generated Distinctiveness. Granted, you won't get much value out of that subhead on page 143 of the hardcover. That's one of only a few negatives I found in the book: a tendency at times to go full-blown academic. But just below that is a money shot in a pull-quote: It is easier to remember how you solved a problem than trying to memorize some else's solution. Translation into fiction writer terms? Get your reader involved in helping characters solve plot problems in your stories.
Remember how Dan Brown engaged you in The Da Vinci Code? Mysteries, clues, anagrams galore. While the characters were solving these, so you were you, if you were like me. And what is the quality we engaged readers were demonstrating? Why don't I let you figure it out for yourself?
The one-word response can be found in the following three-word anagram: titanic air pop.
G'luck. Enjoy Impossible to Ignore.
This review of Impossible to Ignore is for you.
Ever heard the old saying? When the only tool you have is a chainsaw, every problem looks like a murder victim. No? Even so, you get the point, right?
Permit me to turn that concept of tools (hammers?) and problems (nails?) on its head: When you're a writer who obsesses over finding writing techniques that work, you find new tools, not just in writing how-to books, but in everything you read. If you'd like to test that proposition, start with this book.
I2I is one of those rare nonfiction books I consider a Must-Read for fiction (and nonfiction) writers because the text is packed with tips you can use to hack a reader's mind (an agent's mind, and an acquisition editor's mind as well). Yes, it looks like a business and marketing how-to for communications. But the moment you re-frame your reading mind to look for techniques to exploit in your stories, the creative lights come on. I've made a half-dozen writerly checklists from this book. I've written notes and a lot of !!!!s into the margins, where I've underlined material in red ink and splattered so many highlights it looks as if some graffiti artist vandalized my copy.
Quick Example
Enable Self-Generated Distinctiveness. Granted, you won't get much value out of that subhead on page 143 of the hardcover. That's one of only a few negatives I found in the book: a tendency at times to go full-blown academic. But just below that is a money shot in a pull-quote: It is easier to remember how you solved a problem than trying to memorize some else's solution. Translation into fiction writer terms? Get your reader involved in helping characters solve plot problems in your stories.
Remember how Dan Brown engaged you in The Da Vinci Code? Mysteries, clues, anagrams galore. While the characters were solving these, so you were you, if you were like me. And what is the quality we engaged readers were demonstrating? Why don't I let you figure it out for yourself?
The one-word response can be found in the following three-word anagram: titanic air pop.
G'luck. Enjoy Impossible to Ignore.
June 18, 2019
Two stars may be too harsh for this book. This is a blend of two excellent books - "The Power of Habit" and "Influence." How to create habits or mental cues to make your content memorable enough for people to remember it when they go to take action.
I definitely took 3-4 helpful, concrete observations that I can use as a communicator and marketer. At the same time the 250+ pages of material needed to be about 100. This is common for business/marketing type books, but can be tough to do when written by a Phd who is trying to communicate the science behind how the brain can work. Interestingly enough the author did not succeed on the very thing her book was about - making content impossible to ignore. Strip the book down to the core and this would be convincing.
The best takeaway - people only retain 10% of what they hear. Most of the time the information retained varies from listener to listener. How can you as a communicator communicate effectively the information you know is most valuable so that the majority of the audience retains the most important piece of information as a part of the 10%. That one thought and some key tenets behind it are worth the entire book alone.
I definitely took 3-4 helpful, concrete observations that I can use as a communicator and marketer. At the same time the 250+ pages of material needed to be about 100. This is common for business/marketing type books, but can be tough to do when written by a Phd who is trying to communicate the science behind how the brain can work. Interestingly enough the author did not succeed on the very thing her book was about - making content impossible to ignore. Strip the book down to the core and this would be convincing.
The best takeaway - people only retain 10% of what they hear. Most of the time the information retained varies from listener to listener. How can you as a communicator communicate effectively the information you know is most valuable so that the majority of the audience retains the most important piece of information as a part of the 10%. That one thought and some key tenets behind it are worth the entire book alone.
April 21, 2016
"Impossible to Ignore" is about how to improve the likelihood that people will take away the message that you're trying to impart, remember it, and act upon it. It's mainly aimed at business situations like meetings, sales interactions, ad campaigns, or seminars, but the basic principles can be applied to other situations. The author provided helpful real life and theoretical examples on how to apply the basic principles.
The author explained discoveries about how we form memories or are motivated to take new actions and then explained how to use this information to affect other people's memories and actions. She talked about what we remember and what we forget, expectations, anticipation, surprise, and novelty. She discussed the differences between getting people to remember the gist of what you said versus what's needed for people to remember exact information. She talked about the amount of information to include and how to inspire others to talk about you.
There's a checklist list at the end so you can make sure you're using these principles and engaging the audience's imagination and senses. Overall, I felt like this book contained useful information.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
The author explained discoveries about how we form memories or are motivated to take new actions and then explained how to use this information to affect other people's memories and actions. She talked about what we remember and what we forget, expectations, anticipation, surprise, and novelty. She discussed the differences between getting people to remember the gist of what you said versus what's needed for people to remember exact information. She talked about the amount of information to include and how to inspire others to talk about you.
There's a checklist list at the end so you can make sure you're using these principles and engaging the audience's imagination and senses. Overall, I felt like this book contained useful information.
I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
September 6, 2020
OK- as others have pointed out this is not a page turner in terms of writing style. But there is a LOT of good information and thought provoking discussion in this book. And an added plus: an actual checklist at the back for how to implement the techniques.
November 27, 2018
This is a phenomenal book for any sort of creator. It has so much useful information, especially throughout the middle of the book, it feels like changing. The writing style is more technical, so it was a slower read; for me, it was the kind of read where I read a little every day while reading other faster paced books. Overall, I thought it was very well researched and explained, definitely worth the read.
March 26, 2019
Impossible to Ignore: Creating Memorable Content to Influence Decisions by Carmen Simon was chosen by Soundview Executive Book Summaries as one of the Top Business Books of 2016.
THE SOUNDVIEW OVERVIEW:
Audiences forget up to 90 percent of what you communicate. How can your employees and customers decide to act on your message if they only remember a tenth of it? How do you know which tenth they'll remember? How will you stay on their minds long enough to spark the action you need?
Many experts have offered techniques on how to improve your own memory but not how to influence other people's memory — and impact their decisions. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience and cognitive psychology, Carmen Simon, Ph.D., reveals how to avoid the hazards of random recall and deliver just the right amount of content. In Impossible to Ignore, she shows you how to execute a proven three-step plan for persuasion: create cues that attract attention and connect with your audience's needs; use memory-influencing variables to control what your audience remembers; and turn today's intentions into tomorrow's actions.
Whether you're giving a presentation, conducting a meeting, delivering training, making a sales pitch or creating a marketing campaign, these field-tested techniques will help you develop content that speaks to people's hearts, stays in their heads and influences their decisions. It's not just memorable — it's Impossible to Ignore.
Soundview's in-depth, 15-minute Executive Summary of Impossible to Ignore is available here.
THE SOUNDVIEW OVERVIEW:
Audiences forget up to 90 percent of what you communicate. How can your employees and customers decide to act on your message if they only remember a tenth of it? How do you know which tenth they'll remember? How will you stay on their minds long enough to spark the action you need?
Many experts have offered techniques on how to improve your own memory but not how to influence other people's memory — and impact their decisions. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience and cognitive psychology, Carmen Simon, Ph.D., reveals how to avoid the hazards of random recall and deliver just the right amount of content. In Impossible to Ignore, she shows you how to execute a proven three-step plan for persuasion: create cues that attract attention and connect with your audience's needs; use memory-influencing variables to control what your audience remembers; and turn today's intentions into tomorrow's actions.
Whether you're giving a presentation, conducting a meeting, delivering training, making a sales pitch or creating a marketing campaign, these field-tested techniques will help you develop content that speaks to people's hearts, stays in their heads and influences their decisions. It's not just memorable — it's Impossible to Ignore.
Soundview's in-depth, 15-minute Executive Summary of Impossible to Ignore is available here.
March 30, 2018
great book to have...I personally focus on cognitive behavior as well..understanding the messenger and the receiver communications are extremely essential and devils are in the details..Service Marketing is how a person's expectation meets with results that translates into satisfaction and dis-satisfactory responses...interesting to learn from this book..first the preparation to think from audiences are essential: especially presenting or making a presentation needs to make like a movie and know when to make a cut. second: the more we accustomed with good result, our mundane adoption/adaptation/expectation also set in: yet we still accept it.... third: 15 ways to make a dent in front of your audiences...
May 10, 2019
There is interesting information in here, but the writing is very dry. It's not a book that excites the mind to consider all the new possibilities (although that's what it's kinda about!)
The core principles how to shape your content to have the best impact for memory retrieval and action are solid, but boy, I had to slog through it. My eyes glazed over sometimes. The science was good. Many of the examples used I considered weak. At some point the writing felt very formulaic, generic.
I did find it very helpful and could successfully apply most of its lessons to improve my content. But in some other cases and sections of the book, it was not specific or clear enough to be helpful.
The core principles how to shape your content to have the best impact for memory retrieval and action are solid, but boy, I had to slog through it. My eyes glazed over sometimes. The science was good. Many of the examples used I considered weak. At some point the writing felt very formulaic, generic.
I did find it very helpful and could successfully apply most of its lessons to improve my content. But in some other cases and sections of the book, it was not specific or clear enough to be helpful.
May 19, 2023
Make sure you take notes when reading this book
I’m fascinated by neuroscience and this book explains the subject in great detail. I purchased the book because I wanted to learn more about marketing to consumers’ and it didn’t disappoint. I took lots of notes on sections I wanted to retain for marketing purposes.
This book definitely gives you bang for your buck.
I’m going to recommend this book to my fellow small business owners so they can understand their prospects way of thinking, so they can improve their marketing strategies to their prospects.
Definitely a must read for everyone whose promoting or selling anything.
I’m fascinated by neuroscience and this book explains the subject in great detail. I purchased the book because I wanted to learn more about marketing to consumers’ and it didn’t disappoint. I took lots of notes on sections I wanted to retain for marketing purposes.
This book definitely gives you bang for your buck.
I’m going to recommend this book to my fellow small business owners so they can understand their prospects way of thinking, so they can improve their marketing strategies to their prospects.
Definitely a must read for everyone whose promoting or selling anything.
May 2, 2019
The sheer quantity of notes I took from this book reminds me of all the valuable insights it has to offer. Interestingly, I've found those insights to be useful not only for people creating content but for people looking to understand and improve their awareness of how the content they ingest from various media impacts them.
All the points are based on up-to-date social and neuro science and can be applied whether you are a teacher, speaker, writer, advertiser, or practitioner looking to impart information and skills and make an impact. Not a difficult or dry read, and worth your time!
All the points are based on up-to-date social and neuro science and can be applied whether you are a teacher, speaker, writer, advertiser, or practitioner looking to impart information and skills and make an impact. Not a difficult or dry read, and worth your time!
October 10, 2019
Teniendo en cuenta que la audiencia retiene alrededor del 10% de la información que compartimos con ella, ¿Cómo lograr que recuerde el 10% que a nosotros nos gustaría y tenga en cuenta nuestras ideas o recomendaciones? Eso es lo que se pregunta y responde con información basada en neurociencias, psicología cognitiva y ejemplos de presentaciones de negocios la neurocientífica CarmenSimon. Imposible no leerlo para los que quieran sumar neuro herramientas a su #storytelling.
March 20, 2019
It took me a long time to finish this book, but that has nothing to do with Carmen Simon's writing. She is clear and engaging in her writing - employing the tactics interrogated in the book. Surprisingly, I found this book applicable to much more beyond business use. (Wish I'd had it in undergrad and graduate school while exploring critical theory.)
April 21, 2020
I went back to this book over and over and over again because I wanted to glean the content, but it was just so boring! Isn’t that odd - that this book about being impossible to ignore is so very possible to ignore? The other issue that I had was that it seemed like I was being told what to do, just not how to execute those things. Perhaps this was the cause of the frustrated boredom on my part.
March 7, 2021
Some good ideas but the only real note I have is: Numerous studies show that if you are told that specific traits (e.g. introversion and extroversion) lead to success, you will tend to recall more easily memories that exemplify how you possess those traits. Memories consistent with a desired self become more easily accessible, and the process of remembering is also perceived as easier.
January 31, 2019
One of the best books I have ever read. Extremely useful, and, somewhat ironically quite impossible to ignore.
read this if you want to know how memory works, or, if you want to be a marketer of some sort of competence.
read this if you want to know how memory works, or, if you want to be a marketer of some sort of competence.
September 15, 2019
"The problem is not that people remember very little, it's that people remember very little at random"
This book will teach you principles on how to create content that people will remember by leveraging the science behind memories.
This book will teach you principles on how to create content that people will remember by leveraging the science behind memories.
November 5, 2019
Over the summer I took a marketing job after about 10 years as a journalist. I knew little about the marketing game, and this book, written by a cognitive scientist, seemed to offer an interesting take. It did, at times, though it wasn't filled with the profound ideas I hoped to find.
February 28, 2021
There are some really, really good ideas in this book. But man is it coated thick with long winded, boring examples. I was yearning for the author to dive in more on the “here’s how to apply this” side but I understand it’s a high level book.
May 24, 2018
Too few practical examples
September 21, 2018
Useful information but the book is written in an academic manner which was quite difficult for me. I feel that it could have been simplified quite a bit while retaining the useful information.
August 15, 2019
Ultimate reference
April 18, 2020
Good ideas...solid science, bore of a read.
November 6, 2020
moderately practical
April 9, 2021
Excellent book if you want to make an impact around you
May 17, 2021
The information is good, but extremely repetitive and dull.
July 29, 2021
Incredible insights. Glad I read it.
Read
April 2, 2023Hữu ích! Sẽ đọc lại nhiều lần.
January 10, 2024
Picked up some gems to use at work! (I'm in marketing.)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews